Interview with Dr. Kristey Reed, Owner of Heartstrings In-Home Euthanasia Services - Kingwood

Published: May 04, 2023, 1:51pm

As part of our ongoing "Getting to Know Your Local Businesses" series, this week we sat down with
Dr. Kristey Reed , owner of Heartstrings In-Home Euthanasia Services !

Tell us a bit about your business: What does your business offer, and how long have you been
around?
My business is very specific in that I only offer in home euthanasia services for pets in the areas north of Houston. While this business has only been around for a couple of months, I have been a veterinarian for 15 years and have been doing mobile work for the last two years.

How did you decide to get involved in this line of work? How did the business get started?
During my time in mobile practice, I felt like we were able to truly help people

and their pets by offering this service in the comfort of their home. It made a terribly difficult time maybe just a little bit easier. I feel very passionately about being able to help people and their pets through this time and chose to start my own business to help fill the need for this service.

Tell us a couple things you are proud of about your business. What are you known for? What
separates you from the competition?
I'm most proud of the care and compassion I can provide for my patients and their families. Not a lot of veterinarians are providing this service in Houston, and most of those don't come to this part of town, so making this available where it wasn't available previously is something I'm very glad to be able to do.

What is your favorite part of running this business?
While this is an incredibly difficult job to have, I really like when people share their memories and stories with me. I feel honored to get a glimpse into the lives of people and their pets as they have to say goodbye to them, and that

people trust me with the final care of their fur babies.

Who is your ideal customer/client? Who do you serve best?
While I do sometimes have same day, or next day, appointments available, this is a process that tends to be best suited for planning ahead. While this isn't always possible and can be very difficult, this allows for the best preparation and closure for the family, as well as the best guarantee that an appointment will be available.

Can you tell us something about yourself as the business owner? What is your background?
I'm a graduate of Texas A&M vet school and have been a vet for almost 15 years, 8 of which have been in the

Houston area. While practicing with a mobile practice over the past year and a half, I realized how important this option was to people and how much I could help people and their pets. So I decided to make a change.

How do you see your business growing and improving over the next couple of years?
As this option for euthanasia becomes more well known, my hope is to be able to grow enough to provide this service throughout the week, with less limitation on my availability. I also plan on studying/training to be able to provide pet hospice in the next year or two.